Siege of Pengcheng (193)

The Siege of Pengcheng occurred in 193 AD when the army of Cao Cao attacked the Yellow Turban stronghold of Pengcheng, held by the warlord Huang Shao and his subordinate Guan Hai. Cao Cao's army destroyed a massive Yellow Turban army which had used the temple as its base, and Cao Cao's pacification of Pengcheng allowed for him to invade his rival Tao Qian's adjoining lands in Xu Province.

Background
In 193 AD, the warlord Cao Cao's father Cao Song was murdered by the renegade general Zhang Kai, a former Yellow Turban bandit who had been sent by the warlord Tao Qian to escort Cao Song to Cao Cao's new base of Yanzhou. His father's death enraged Cao Cao so much that he decided to declare war on Tao Qian, swearing to destroy his family in revenge for his former general's betrayal. Cao Cao and his brothers Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan brought a large army north from Yangzhou to invade Tao Qian's lands in Xu Province, but they found that the only routes to Xu Province were controlled by Cao Cao's neutral neighbor Wang Lang and the Yellow Turban warlord Huang Shao. Hoping to pacify the nearby bandits and thereby both provide access to Xuzhou and forestall a Yellow Turban attack, Cao Cao marched his army into Huang Shao's territory and besieged his stronghold at the Pengcheng temple, where he had amassed 1,983 Yellow Turban bandits.

Battle
The two armies met in the forest below the mountainside temple, and the two armies drew up battle lines which were often obscured by the treelines. At the start of the battle, Yellow Turban general Guan Hai challenged Cao Cao's general Xiahou Dun to a duel, and, as the two armies clashed among the woods, Xiahou Dun lopped off Guan Hai's left arm before impaling Guan Hai through the neck with his spear. Cao Cao's forces flanked the Yellow Turbans from both sides, and Cao Cao's veteran army massacred the unskilled bandits from multiple sides, leaving their bodies scattered across the forest floor. Cao Cao and his army were unable to slay Huang Shao, who used his healing sorcery to protect himself even while on the verge of death, but the Pengcheng stronghold to Cao Cao after a close and bloody victory.

Aftermath
Cao Cao's victory enabled him to focus on invading the rest of Xu Province and avenge his father with Tao Qian's death. Liu Bei sent an envoy asking Cao Cao for a payment in exchange for a non-aggression pact with him, but Cao Cao, insulted at Liu Bei's demands for payment, rejected the offer and continued with his invasion of Tao Qian's lands, which fell quickly due to a lack of proper defenses.